Yup, we have to find a coloration that makes sense to us and forge ahead. Never formulate a value judgment of equipment at a meet or similar for the distractions.
If your at a Music venue and experiencing the presentation, I have never used the typical audiophile criteria to validate (or attempt to substantiate) what I'm hearing. That flies right out the doors of the Hall and defies convention. The live, visceral experience can't be precisely captured then re-lived. Some Loudspeakers will dig up the past and you can again glimpse what the event covered, still never quite the same (IMO). You have to push the "believe it button" and use imagination to fill the voids. Yet when it works, the smile creeps across the fascia
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Tastes in gear will very with time and experience, while being linked to our personal evolution. If Music remains important in ones life, it will undergo an expansion of sorts. It will expand beyond a single favorite artist or a favorite genre and include many of the Musical facets available. We alter how we listen, why we listen and the importance placed on those interpretations.
And healthy (respectful) arguing is always constructive!
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